MILFORD - From noisy, open classrooms to faulty heating systems, Town Meeting members and residents got to see it all Wednesday night as they toured the current Woodland Elementary School that officials are hoping to rebuild.

As part of an effort to replace the 35-year-old school, the building committee organized tours led by current teachers to convince Town Meeting members to approve funding plans for a new building at a special meeting on Feb. 10.

Teachers showed Town Meeting members the current layout that utilizes an “open classroom” design popular in the 1970s when the school was built.

“Everyone is doing the best we can, we have no other choice, but we are bursting at the seams,” said Jackie Pica, a third grade teacher.

The building, originally build for 500 students, now houses 650, with that number expected to swell to 680 next year.

There are currently only four full-sized classrooms in the building and the rest are the open classroom design that provides no barriers between rooms and means about 50 students in a large room.

Teachers at the school say it’s difficult for them to focus, never mind the students.

“As soon as they sense something more interesting is going on in the other room, I lose them,” said Wendy Marino, a fourth grade teacher.

There are no gathering spaces and no auditorium; all available space – even former janitor’s closets – has been turned into needed classrooms.

“It’s this mill of noises and they can’t think,” said Mary Olson, a reading instructor who attempts to teach children in an open space adjacent to the media center, computer lab and hallways. “This isn’t even an adequate learning environment.”

The plan for a new, $60.9 million school includes a three-story, 132,500-square-foot building complete with full-sized classrooms, learning commons on each floor, an arts wing, larger gym and cafeteria and an improved parking setup.

Of the $60.9 million cost of the new building, the Massachusetts School Building Authority may pick up about 50 percent of the tab, according to officials. The town's estimated share would be around $34 million.

The financing article needs a two-thirds majority to pass Town Meeting.

Town Meeting member Maria Romagnoli said she was “convinced” following the tour of the school.